Lord Soth

Chapter 14

Istvan sat hunched over his mixing table, cropping pinches of blue hyssop into a small pile of powdered comfrey. According to the journals he'd read, the hybrid mixture was supposed to do wonders for easing the pains in joints brought on by the passage of time. Old age.

He drew his mixing stick in circles through the reddishblue powder until it was a deep-purple hue. Then he scooped it off the table with a flat stone and gently shook the mix into a small leather pouch. After closing one end of the pouch, he tied it around his waist so the mixture would always be close-at-hand.

He'd been taking the powder for several days now and couldn't yet decide whether it was working or not. He would continue the treatment for two more days. If his pain didn't lessen by then he'd end the experiment and dismiss the exercise as being nothing more than the wishful thinking of an old fool.

There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" asked Istvan.

"Parry Roslin," said a voice from the other side of the door.

Istvan's eyebrows arched. Roslin was the captain of the keep's guards.

At this time of night, Roslin's visit could only have to deal with official business. "Come in." "Beg your pardon, healer," said the large and stout, redhaired guard. '"There are four elf-maids at the gate wanting entrance to the keep."

Istvan nodded thoughtfully. "So why are you telling me this?"

"Milord and milady have retired for the night."

"And what of knights Caradoc and Farold?"

"The women say they are here only to see Isolde and no other. They say they're here to bring her back to Silvanesti."

Istvan looked at the guard a moment. "I see."

"And because the elf-maid is in your charge I thought I'd bring the matter to your attention first."

Istvan was silent, considering the situation. He glanced down at the mixing table and saw the speckles of blue hyssop that had fallen in the cracks between the wood, blue hyssop on which Lord Soth had spent a tidy sum.

"You've done well," Istvan said at last.

Roslin smiled, as he'd probably had some doubts about whether he was doing the right thing coming to see Istvan first.

"Let them in, but take them directly to the elf-maid.

Keep a guard posted throughout their visit, which is to be conducted in private. When they are done, escort them to the gatehouse. If Isolde is with them, call me. If not, send them on their way and deal with me no more."

Roslin nodded, and left the room.

Istvan got up from his chair, suddenly feeling much older and stiffer than when he'd first sat down.

"It's good to see you, Isolde," said one of the elf-maids.

"And you too," answered Isolde. "All of you."

"We missed you in Palanthas," said another of the maids. "It was unfortunate that you couldn't have been there with us. You would have liked it there."

Isolde made no comment.

The maids chatted for a while before the elderly elfwoman joined in.

"So," she said. "Now that you have recovered from your injuries we can all return to Silvanesti the same as we left-as a party of five."

"I won't be returning to Silvanesti," said Isolde.

The other three maidens had been chatting between themselves while the elf-woman spoke, but now upon hearing the response from Isolde they grew quiet and the room had suddenly filled with tension.

"What did you say?" asked the elf-woman.

The silence in the room was complete.

"I said I won't be returning to Silvanesti. I have decided to remain here in the keep. For a little while longer at least."

The elf-woman rubbed a thin bony finger across her wrinkled forehead.

Obviously, Isolde's decision didn't rest lightly on the woman's shoulders.

"Leave us alone for a moment," said the woman.

Without hesitation, the three elf-maids rose up and left the room leaving Isolde and the woman alone.

When the door was closed, the woman spoke. "You can't be serious."

"But I am."

"What possible place does an elf-maid have in the keep of a Knight of

Solamnia?"

Isolde didn't have an answer to the question, or at least didn't have an answer she felt like relating to the elderly elf.

"Have they put you to work?"

"Not really. I help the healer in his herb garden, but it's not really work."

"Do you sing for milord?"

"No."

"Do you do any entertaining in the keep?"

"I play the healer's harp, but it's more for my own pleasure than anything else."

"Are you tutoring children?"

"No."

She looked at Isolde curiously. "Have you been made one of milady's maids?"

"No."

"Then why must you remain here when you belong in Silvanesti?"

"Milord needs me… to talk to."

The old elf-woman stared at Isolde with narrowed eyes for a long, long time. Finally she said, "Have you been intimate with the lord of the keep?"

All she had done was hold him in her arms and comfort him. At least that was all she had done in the beginning.

Then she had kissed him, and then… She felt in her heart that she had done nothing wrong.

She had merely provided some comfort to a soul in pain, but she knew she couldn't tell that to the elf-woman with any amount of conviction. So, instead of answering the question, she merely lowered her head in silence.

The woman drew in a long breath. "May the great god Paladine take pity on your soul."

"This seems so sudden," said Korinne. "Must you go away again?"

"I'm afraid so, Korinne," said Soth. "Lord Irvine says my help is needed at Vingaard Keep on a matter of great urgency. Exactly what the problem is he did not say, but judging by the tone of his message, I think it's best that I depart as soon as possible."

"Very well, then," Korinne sighed, feigning disappointment.

"If you must go, then Paladine be with you."

"Thank you, my love."

Korinne nodded and did her best to smile. "Give Lord Irvine my regards."

"I will."

The midday sun was high over the western plain as Lady Korinne stood at the window of her bedchamber waiting for her husband to leave the keep.

In the distance, four figures draped in robes were heading due south along the foot of the Dargaard Mountains after having left the keep some time ago. They were riding slowly, three of them high in the saddle, one hunched over from what was most likely old age.

It wasn't uncommon for people to come and go from the keep without her knowledge-it was impossible for Lady Korinne, and Lord Soth for that matter, to know about everything that went on within the keep's walls-but for some reason Korinne's curiosity was piqued by this party of four. They didn't seem to be merchants or mercenaries and Dargaard Keep was hardly ever visited by wizards, priests or rogues.

A curiosity to be sure.

Suddenly, the outside of the keep was alive with the sound of hoof-beats on the wooden drawbridge spanning the chasm. A second later Lord Soth rode out of the keep followed by six knights. They quickly headed east, the trail to Vingaard Keep taking them nowhere near the other four travelers.

Korinne watched Soth and the knights for a long time, not moving from the window until they were nearly out of sight. Before turning away, she glanced southward. The four riders heading that way were also gone.

She turned away from the window.

"They're gone, Mirrel," she said to her newest lady-in-waiting.

"Begin making preparations for this evening." "Yes, milady," said

Mirrel.

"We'll set out after dark."

The moons had been hanging over the keep for several hours before Korinne heard the faint knock upon her door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Mirrel."

Korinne hurried to the door and opened it. Mirrel stood there draped in a dark cloak, a garment which would make her all but invisible in the darkness. She had a second dark cloak for Korinne. "Put it on," she said, then added, "please, milady."

Korinne slipped into the robe and together the two women padded through the keep, taking the less-traveled routes on their way to the gatehouse.

To Korinne's surprise, the gate was unattended, the portcullis slightly raised. "Where are the guards?"

"I arranged for them to be away from their posts for several minutes.

They should likewise be gone when we return."

"But how?"

"Don't underestimate the feminine charms of-"

"Never mind," said Korinne, cutting off Mirrel's whispers.

"I've already decided I don't want to know."

"Perhaps it would be best that way, milady."

Korinne looked at the maid, amazed by her ingenuity, efficiency and her steadfast loyalty. Despite the fact that Mirrel had been the one to inform her of Lord Soth's indiscretions, Korinne was beginning to look upon their meeting as a blessing. Although she'd been lady of the keep,

Korinne had sorely been missing a close and loyal friend.

Now she had one.

They snuck through the gap left by the raised portcullis and crossed the drawbridge quickly, trying to stay out of the faint light of the moons.

When they had reached some cover outside the keep, Korinne turned to Mirrel. "What now?"

'"This way," said Mirrel. "There are horses waiting."

Again, Korinne was impressed by Mirrel's thoroughness, and for the first time since she'd thought of this wild scheme, she believed it might actually have a chance of succeeding.

They reached the horses, a pair of big and powerful black stallions.

They mounted the horses and without a word being spoken between them, rode off into the night.